this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2024
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What is this thing?

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Steel pipe with brass barb and white-green filling found in bushland (aussie.zone)
submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by WaterWaiver@aussie.zone to c/whatisthisthing@lemmy.world
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Location: Sydney, Australia. Found it during bushcare.

The brass barb fitting and the powdery filling suggest some sort of kiln burner to me, but the dark green paint on the outside of the tube looks rather ordinary and not like it has been through high temperatures.

The soft, powdery cemetitious filling has a copper-green tint. Only one end has a hole.

If it were not for the brass barb and coppery fill colour I would assume this is just a bit of structural steel from someone's carport (or similar) that has filled with cement and now been cut to pieces for disposal. But a carport with a barb fitting? WTH?

We find all sorts of garbage in this bushland because it's sandwiched in suburbia. Traditionally it was a dumping ground (mattresses, furniture, asbestos, whole cars) and today still people use it illegally as a dump (mainly building materials and soil). Lots of random materials get deposited by or uncovered by stormwater runoff & floods too. There is no limit to the craziness of what you find here.

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[–] Godnroc@lemmy.world 31 points 2 weeks ago

Shot in the dark, but the barb and filling remind me of the DIY foundries you see online. Perhaps a way to add air or fuel and the thick lining is a heat resistant material to prevent the pipe from melting while in use.

[–] Machinist@lemmy.world 16 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Guessing.

Something to do with fluid mixing/filtration/reaction. Fair amount of quick and dirty, not a production item. Low pressure, just a few psi. Water treatment, meth, process prototype, pesticides, agricultural water.

There are green forms of arsenic. Wouldn't go licking it, wash hands after touching. Don't hang on to it.

[–] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

How would you know that green is arsenic and not copper?

[–] Machinist@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

I don't know that it's arsenic. Green arsenic is that color due to the copper in molecule.

However, that object looks like it did something with industrial fluid. The pipe shell is also painted green. It's an area where illegal dumping occurs. I'd be cautious. I've found sealed 55 gal drums in deep woods before from illegal dumping. Getting rid of toxic shit can be expensive so some assholes illegally dump.

Until you know what it is, it pays to be cautious. That thing just makes my Spidey sense tingle.

[–] smb@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

How would you know that green is arsenic and not copper?

he already suggested to NOT lick it, guess arsenic would cause death upon licking, so he already mentioned how to "know" that but suggested to better stay alive instead 😉

@ @WaterWaiver@aussie.zone : it would be interesting to know if the hole is connected right through to the barb or not, suggesting that the powdery chemicals would have to do sth with the barb, or not. then maybe suggesting some chemical processing.

guessing chemicals by picture and observations is error prone and can be dangerous. if you want to know, send it to a lab. maybe hint it to police mentioning them the meth processing guessed earlier by @Machinist@lemmy.world maybe they'll analyse it and tell you later what it was.

[–] WaterWaiver@aussie.zone 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

it would be interesting to know if the hole is connected right through to the barb or not

I feel very uncomfortable with the thought of probing this thing with long metal rods whilst looking down the end.

maybe hint it to police

I guess I could try and send them the pics and ask them about this "suspicious object". Hopefully it's just a bong.

(I can't quite see it being an arsenic cannon, but yeah I wasn't planning on trusting my copper oxide assumption regardless xD)

[–] smb@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 week ago

I feel very uncomfortable

sorry, making you feell uncomfortable was not my intention.

I guess I could try and send them the pics and ask them about this "suspicious object".

i guess thats the correct way. just imagine there would actually be illegal chemicals in it and your fingerprints are on it now :o) not mentioning it to them could even create a problem then.

on the pictures it looks rather blueish to me not greenish and the other guy mentioning meth reminded me of the blue color somewhere in breaking bad, so the idea that the pipe had been used for processing drugs got stuck in my mind 🤷 but my knowledge in this topic is rather limited to half forgotten school knowledge, common sense and movie bullshit...

guess its nothing, but telling police about it is the right thing anyway. maybe donate them a donut or pizza if its nothing 😉

[–] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I think if you lick random object you find laying around, you're destined to doom.

[–] smb@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 week ago

I think if you lick random object you find laying around, you’re destined to doom.

but at least they're yours once licked ;-)

[–] taldennz@lemmy.nz 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You don't. But you also don't know it isn't. And if there was chemical processing involved it could be.

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Alright so after looking at the symptoms of arsenic poisoning, I'm not sure how I can tell it apart from getting a combo at Taco Bell with a large fruit punch.

[–] Warl0k3@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I've built plink-around cannons like this - fuse goes through the hose barb, cement inside, cast around a dowel and bam, cannon. Not saying that's what this absolutely is, but it's yet another option.

[–] Benjaben@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

Hmm. Sounds like fun lol

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

One time,I had about 15 inches of iron pipe left over from a project that I used to test a new step drill bit. It already had an odd angle cut on one end. I found myself with a half-used can of expanding foam and I broke the nozzle, so I just sprayed it into the end of the pipe to see what happenes. When it dried, it ended up in a dumpster. We joked that future anthropologists would be so fucking confused finding it. This reminds me of that.

My point is, maybe it's nothing and don't worry about it.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago

future anthropologists would be so fucking confused

"Ah yes, this must have been a sacred object, likely used for ceremonial or ritualistic purposes, perhaps representative of one of their deities..."

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I suspect that the metal tube with the fitting could be part of a hydraulic cylinder from a piece of heavy construction or farm equipment, from the part that would lift/lower/tilt something? Not sure what the tube is filled with, but it looks like a lot of corrosion.

[–] Forester@yiffit.net 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

99.99% sure, that's a bong.

[–] lurch@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago

Decades ago, I smoked a swimming pool, so I'd say this can definately also be used as a bong.

[–] WaterWaiver@aussie.zone 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I was going to reply with "you can't use barbed fittings at high pressures", but I looked it up and found some claiming 150psi (10 atmospheres). Huh. Perhaps this did start life as a hydraulic cylinder that has had some parts lopped off.

Not sure what the tube is filled with, but it looks like a lot of corrosion.

I don't think it's built up corrosion. The pipe is steel and corrodes to red/brown iron oxide, as visible around the circumference at the end. The green colour in the filling is not an iron oxide. It might be a copper oxide, or some dye in the white material.

[–] Death_Equity@lemmy.world 5 points 2 weeks ago

That type of fitting is definitely low pressure because it is barbed.

[–] Forester@yiffit.net 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (3 children)

That's a bong, missing the bowl. The bowl would have been a 90° female fitting like this

It even has a tiny carb hole next to the mouth hole. I'm guessing that the interior is plaster of Paris or something similar.

I've smoked out of worse

[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You have never bonged before, sir, and it shows.

[–] Forester@yiffit.net 5 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

It's no roor but it'll rip in a pinch if you tilt it 45 deg. And put a cup of wet in it. You've clearly never smoked out of a garden hose triple perks Gatorade bong before.

China glass used to not be a thing.

[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

My high point was a chest cooler filled with water and a five gallon jug with the end cut off. Made a wicked gravity bong.

[–] Forester@yiffit.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

I'd like to apologize now that I realize you are a separate person from the person above you and not another of his sentences. I was a little confused

[–] Machinist@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

I wouldn't expect a carb to be in that location.

It doesn't strike me as a bong.

Also, I bet the lining always had some sort of hole thru it.

[–] WaterWaiver@aussie.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Hmm. I admittedly don't have experience here, but I guess that makes sense.

I'm not sure how you would attach an elbow to a barb fitting though. A rubber pipe is usually used on these (but that would then burn/melt).

Is plaster of paris usually used to make bongs? I've only really noticed plastic bottle ones in the bush. I guess plaster will survive burning things better than plastic, but it's also porous.

[–] Forester@yiffit.net 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Probably similar to this but a ball joint on the bottom

[–] Theroddd@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 weeks ago

Looks almost like it could be a DIY solid fuel rocket motor.